We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, May 29, 2017

Vanessa Beely On White Helmets, Syria with Sane Progressive Interview

"Debbie" of Progressive Interview channel of YouTube interviews one of my favorite independent investigative journalists, Vanessa Beely, a Brit who has traveled extensively in the Middle East especially in the hot spots of Syria and Gaza. Because I have already posted a lot of material about the While Helmets who are sponsored by an NGO, I am posting this primarily because of Beely's opening general remarks about NGOs and how they are tied in with the capitalist ruling class to promote their geopolitical interests abroad. (You will also learn that she has connections with two other of my favorites-- Eva Bartlett and Cory Morningstar.) If you want to skip the opening attempts by Debbie while she rigs up the necessary computer connections amidst friendly giggles between the two women, I advise you to listen from 3:05 to 11:17 in which Beely gives a very succinct, but clear understanding of the role of many such NGOs.